Club Corner: Interact
Photo courtesy of CLAIRE MEDINA
DBHS volunteer club Interact mainly focuses on helping those in need in nearby communities; their international goal is to ultimately raise money to combat polio.
February 24, 2016
Service is nothing new when it comes to the students of Diamond Bar High School. But the Interact Club takes service to a new meaning.
Members of Interact Club are part of a world-wide volunteer organization called Rotary International, which has an extensive pedigree and a long tradition of service. The Rotary has made a positive impact on numerous American communities, as well as communities around the world, during its century plus of operation, and now seeks to further develop its operations in the Brahma community.
In recent years, Interact has grown in terms of membership and its variety of activities, including its monthly Fountain for Disabled Youth, and the annual charity gala.
The Fountain for Disabled Youth is a program held at Christian Zion Church in which volunteers interact with disabled youth, designated as “angels,” and participate in various activities such as dancing, singing, and finger painting with the children.
“FFDY is my favorite event because it allows me to help people, people that a lot of people look down upon and judge. Also because it’s rewarding to spend time with people who maybe think differently, and through that you experience a lot of reflection and self-growth,” sophomore Winston Wang said via Facebook.
While Interact is a general service club, the international organization’s main objective is to raise money to eliminate the ongoing threat of polio.
To raise that money, the club’s officers coordinate various fundraisers in order to provide the necessary funds to manufacture and distribute the polio vaccine to those in third world countries.
“Interact changed me as a person and as cliché as it sounds, it made me grow in every aspect be it social, professional, or organizational. When I feel down or unmotivated, I instantly look towards this organization. It has given me so much and I don’t know if I can ever offer enough to return how much I’ve received,” said junior Nicole Kim, who handles publicity for the club.
Interact will be holding its second charity gala in partnership with UNICEF on Feb. 25 at the Diamond Bar Center to raise funds towards their common cause.
For $20, all student, including any non-DBHS students, can enjoy an Italian dinner along with entertainment like that of All Male and Dance Company.
Additionally, a candy bar and a photo booth will be available to those who desire sweets and wish to document this day of their life.
“The gala’s planning process has definitely been a journey for all of us with this goal to be something bigger than just another community service club and make a real difference in the world,” club president and senior Kathy Tong said. “Especially since Rotary International and UNICEF, the national organizations, partnered up to combat polio as well, we thought that as their high school derivations we’d follow in their footstep.”
